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Friday, February 27, 2015

MoonJune Music in association with John McCracken Music Group and with the great support from PledgeMusic is thrilled to announce a new campaign with guitar legend Allan Holdsworth for Tales from the Vault, a collection of unreleased songs from Allan’s own private collection, written and recorded over the past 15 years, featuring various musicians with whom Allan has performed in the past one and a half decade: bassists Jimmy Johnson, Jimmy Haslip, Ernest Tibbs, Anthony Crawford, Bunny Brunel, and drummers Chad Wackerman, Gary Husband, Joel Taylor and Virgil Donati.Fans have been waiting for over 14 years for new studio recordings from Allan, and he has now chosen to release these through an extensive Pledge Music Campaign that started 3 days ago on February 24, 2015. The wait is finally over!In exchange for pledging, pledgers will receive digital downloads of Tales from the Vault as they are released over the next 6 to 8 months, signed AH signature HH2 Carvin guitars, behind the scenes video of his recording process, Allan’s technical specs for each release along with selected AH merchandise only available through the campaign.To view more details on the campaign visit here: www.pledgemusic.com/projects/allanholdsworthPlease PLEDGE.

Highly-regarded proggers Haken will be visiting North American shores for ten dates in the spring, including a headlining appearance at the 12th annual Rites of Spring Festival (aka ROSfest) in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.Supporting the band on most dates is Next to None, the band featuring Max Portnoy, son of prog drummer extraordinaire Mike Portnoy. InsideOut label mates Spock's Beard are on the bill for the dates in Quebec City and Montreal.Haken guitarist Charlie Griffiths had this to say about their imminent visit:

"One of our biggest ambitions since the beginnings of the band has been to tour the USA. For it to actually be happening is an amazing feeling. We honestly can't wait to get over there and play our music.

We've put together a great set list covering the whole Haken discography and I really think they're going to love it. For a couple of the Canadian shows we're going to be sharing the stage with Spock's Beard, which is crazy because we've been fans of theirs for years."

Tour dates are as follows: 4/25/15 - Token Lounge - Detroit MI (with Next to None)4/26/15 - Reggie's - Chicago IL (with Next to None)4/27/15 - TBC - Toronto ON (with Next to None)4/28/15 - Imperial - Quebec City QC (with Spock's Beard)4/29/15 - Club Soda - Montreal QC (with Spock's Beard)4/3015 - Studio at Webster Hall - New York NY (with Next to None)5/1/15 - Bull Shooters Saloon - Philadelphia PA (with Next to None)5/2/15 - RosFest - Gettysburg PA5/3/15 - Empire -Springfield VA (with Next to None)5/5/15 - Circo Volador - Mexico CityHaken released their third album, The Mountain, on InsideOut in 2013 to great acclaim. In late 2014 they dusted off and recorded three early songs for the Restoration EP. Their fourth full-length album is due on InsideOut worldwide later in 2015. Stay tuned.Haken online:www.hakenmusic.comwww.facebook.com/HakenOfficialwww.twitter.com/Haken_Official

Thursday, February 26, 2015

Wishbone Ash returns to these shores in April 2015 for the first leg of their Pilgrimage North America Tour. Following spring and fall tours in 2014 that featured the group's best-selling Live Dates album, this year Wishbone Ash will present classics spanning their 46-year career and showcase selections from their latest release, Blue Horizon.After logging more than 20,000 miles touring North America last year, the group will begin their 2015 spring tour in Vancouver, British Columbia, winding down the West Coast of the US and then heading across the South – hitting cities that include Portland, Seattle, Oakland, San Juan Capistrano, Ramona, Phoenix, Austin and Dallas. Visit www.wishboneash.com/tourdates for the complete schedule.The title of the 2015 tour is a nod to the Wishbone Ash's beloved Pilgrimage album, but it's also a fitting way to describe what has become an annual journey filled with familiar faces and places.While they're making pilgrimages to various parts of the globe, Wishbone Ash will undertake some live recording projects, as well: one a vinyl-only limited release direct from Metropolis Studios in Chiswick, London; another to be recorded over a three-day residency at Le Triton in Paris for a DVD release.Tour dates and more information can be found at www.wishboneash.com

Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Arena are pleased to announce that their new studio album The Unquiet Sky, is now available to pre-order.The album will be officially released on April 27th and has artwork created by the ever talented Kylan Amos.All pre-orders will be mailed out on March 23rd, one month ahead of the worldwide release. The only other way to get the album before its release will be at the merch desk during their tour.

Friday, February 20, 2015

Tim Bowness has been in NAM studios recording for his forthcoming album, to be released on the InsideOut label. Due in late Summer, the album is a follow-up to 2014's acclaimed Abandoned Dancehall Dreams and features Bowness' live band (including Porcupine Tree's Colin Edwin), alongside Anna Phoebe, Peter Hammill, Andrew Keeling and other guests (to be announced shortly).Tim had this to say:

"If Abandoned Dancehall Dreams was something of a bolder and more dynamic extension of No-Man's Schoolyard Ghosts, I'd say that the new album is something of a bolder and more dynamic extension of Abandoned Dancehall Dreams. A logical step forward with some surprises, I hope. It's been really exciting working with the band on most of the pieces and getting some special contributions from the likes of Anna Phoebe, Peter Hammill and Andrew Keeling."

Abandoned Dancehall Dreams was released last year to critical acclaim, with Classic Rock calling it a "cinematic, contemporary classic and Prog Magazine naming it "arch art-progger Bowness's masterpiece." Prog Magazine also included it in their top 20 critic's albums of the year 2014.You can watch the video for The Warm-Up Man Forever from Abandoned Dancehall Dreams here:

Thursday, February 19, 2015

Pete and Tony Levin, and their very special project Levin Brothers, will be touring the North-Eastern United States in March.Their self-titled album Levin Brothers was officially released in September 2014 (liner notes by one and only and inimitable Anil Prasad) by Seattle based Lazy Bones Recordings on CD and limited edition gold vinyl LP with smoky swirls. (The CD includes 14 tracks + 2 bonus cuts exclusive to the CD).The four-piece jazz band includes Erik Lawrence on sax and Jeff Siegel on drums.​As a French Horn major, Pete Levin earned a master’s degree from the Juilliard School. In the early ‘70s he switched to keyboards, becoming a synthesizer specialist in the New York City recording studio scene. Over the years, he has graced hundreds of jazz and pop recordings and performances by the likes of Miles Davis, Gil Evans, Dave Brubeck, Annie Lennox, Brian Ferry, and many others.Tony Levin, himself a graduate of the Eastman School of music, is best klnown as the bass and Chapman Stick voice for Peter Gabriel and King Crimson. He has had a long and notable carreer recordings for artists such as John Lennon, Pink Floyd, Lou Reed, and many others. He currently records and tours with Peter Gabriel, King Crimson, Stick Men, and The Crimson ProjeKCt.​Levin BrotherMarch 2015 TourMar 14 - Rosendale, NY (Rosendale Cafe)Mar 15 - Piermont, NY (The Turning Point)Mar 17 - East Aurora, NY (Medici House)Mar 18 - Rochester, NY (Lovin' Cup)Mar 20 - Schenectady, NY (The Van Dyck)Mar 21 - Dunellen, NJ (Roxy & Dukes) Mar 24 - Northampton, MA (Iron Horse)Mar 25 - Natick, MA (The Center For Arts Natick) Mar 26 - Norfolk, CT (Infinity Hall)Mar 27 - New York, NY (The Iridium)Mar 28 - New York, NY (The Iridium)Mar 29 - New Hope, PA (Havana New Hope)* more dates to be added soon, stay tunedFor more info, please check Levin Brothers website: www.thelevinbrothers.com​And check Levin Brothers official Facebook: www.facebook.com/levinbrothers​​​

Wednesday, February 18, 2015

Last year John Wesley released his latest album Disconnect to a brilliant reception, and he is pleased to announce he is now working on its follow-up. He comments:

"I have begun sorting through ideas and direction for the next album and have started the process of writing pieces that will come together to form the basis for the album. I will be using much of the same team that recorded the last album and hope to begin actual tracking in the late spring early summer. Until then I will be doing shows in and around Florida and hopefully start working some of the new ideas out in the live set."

Monday, February 16, 2015

InsideOutMusic is pleased to announce that The Tangent will release their eighth studio album A Spark in the Aether – The Music That Died Alone, Volume Two on 20th April 2015 in Europe and 21st April 2015 in the US. The band, led by multi-instrumentalist Andy Tillison, is made up of Jonas Reingold (Bass), Theo Travis (Sax & Flute), Luke Machin (Guitar) & Morgan Ågren (Drums).

Andy Tillison had this to say:

“After all the different things we've done, this time it seemed right to come back to our prog roots and "stock in trade". At the same time we wanted to go somewhere new too, so we travelled to America in our Imaginations. We all hope you'll join us!”

Twelve years, eight studio albums, two live DVDs and tours that have taken them from Moscow to Quebec. Now one of the most enduring third wave progressive rock bands on the scene returns - a band that has never made an album using the same personnel as the previous album. In fact, the same line-up has (to date) never been used twice.

But there are regulars. And some of the favourite regulars are back for the 8th album: Flower Kings bass legend Jonas Reingold; the ever-faithful and gifted Theo Travis, familiar to many from his work with the Steven Wilson band, Gong and Robert Fripp, with his arsenal of wind textures from saxophones to flutes; and the return to the fold of the amazingly talented Luke Machin, a guitar hero for a new generation who can even wow the old generations (and who also fronts his own band, Maschine). And of course there's band leader Andy Tillison (keyboards and vocals), the only member of the band to have played on all the records.

This team is joined by Morgan Ågren, Swedish drumming phenomenon who can even count Frank Zappa among his previous jobs (others include, but not limited to, Kaipa, Devin Townsend, and his own acclaimed Mats/Morgan Band). Morgan introduces to The Tangent a real live energy full of inspiration and eccentricity.

And of course the sleeve is designed by the remarkable Ed Unitsky......

The new album is a Rock Album. It's a Prog album. It's a Funky album. It's a Pop album. It's the Eighth Tangent album.The Tangent online:www.thetangent.org

Tuesday, February 10, 2015

Arjen Lucassen (Ayreon, Star One, Guilt Machine) & Anneke van Giersbergen (The Gathering, Devin Townsend Project) are set to release the debut album The Diary from their new band The Gentle Storm on March 24, 2015, and in the lead up they have been posting some revealing behind the scenes videos. The latest one sees Anneke talking about Arjen and the vast array of instruments he plays.You can watch that here:

Friday, February 6, 2015

Guitar legend Adrian Belew has just released his newest music – and it’s like nothing you’ve experienced before. FLUX by belew™ is music that is never the same twice... think about that for a moment.This new revolution in music provides listeners with a mobile “listening experience” that blends music and art all in one accessible iOS application. Now you have access to hundreds of combinations of new Adrian Belew songs, snippets and sound bites that have been cut up, randomized and reassembled in a way that's surprising and unique.

The app embodies the future of technology and taps into what we love most about the Internet and social media: it’s always changing and moving forward.Developed in Amsterdam by MOBGEN and recorded by Belew himself, the musical roulette engine within FLUX by belew randomly connects sounds and beautiful visuals together using different algorithms to produce endless variations.

“I wanted to involve art and nature in the recordings – not just songs and music but also the feeling of life itself, where things are different all the time,” says Belew.

He intends to keep adding to FLUX to make it truly an ever-evolving experience.

Adrian’s newest music in the FLUX by belew app is currently available for iPhones and iPads through the iTunes store for $9.99.

Daevid Allen, co-founder of The Soft Machine and most notably of psychedelic/space rock/Canterbury/jazz fusion prog band Gong, has announced on Gong's website that the cancer that afflicted him has returned in force. Allen's doctors have given him at most six months to live.In the same statement he also announced that he won't be seeking further treatment. Read it in full here:

Hello you Kookaburras,

OK so I have had my PET-CAT scans (which is essentially a full body viewing gallery for cancer specialists, ) and so it is now confirmed that the invading cancer has returned to successfully establish dominant residency in my neck.

The original surgery took much of it out, but the cancer has now recreated itself with renewed vigour while also spreading to my lung.

The cancer is now so well established that I have now been given approximately six months to live.

So My view has Changed:

I am not interested in endless surgical operations and in fact it has come as a relief to know that the end is in sight.

I am a great believer in “The Will of the Way Things Are” and I also believe that the time has come to stop resisting and denying and to surrender to the way it is.

I can only hope that during this journey, I have somehow contributed to the happiness in the lives of a few other fellow humans.

I believe I have done my best to heal, dear friends and that you have been enormously helpful in supporting me through this time.

So Thank you SO much for being there with me, for the Ocean of Love and Now, importantly, Thank you for starting the process of letting go of me, of mourning then transforming and celebrating this death coming up – this is how you can contribute, this would be a great gift from those emotionally and spiritually involved with me.

I love you and will be with you always

- Daevid xxx -

Allen was born in Australia in 1938. In 1961 he moved to the UK and co-founded The Soft Machine in 1966. After being refused entry back in the UK in 68, he moved to Paris and co-founded Gong, a band with which he has been mostly associated, and in which he has been a member and leader on and off ever since.Daevid's latest Gong release is 2014's excellent I See You.

Wednesday, February 4, 2015

Canadian prog band Innerspace is currently putting the finishing touches on the writing of their second album. Having spent almost two years writing they have ended up with material for a double album that they consider more mature, showing both skill and experience.And now they ask for your help.Knowing that they need a minimum of $5,000 to record their next album, and knowing that Kickstarter only pays up only when the goal is reached, they ask for $2,000, hoping that fans of the first album will likely spend in advance for the new double album. As of today there are 52 days left, and their goal is nearly reached. There are a variety of rewards that can be pledged, including signed copies of the CD and getting your name mentioned in the CD booklet.Their first release, The Village, received critical acclaim, and they hope to surpass expectations with this second album.

Tuesday, February 3, 2015

Following their acclaimed tour of America in 2014, King Crimson returns to active service in 2015 for a series of performances across the UK and in Europe.Starting in Aylesbury at the end of August, King Crimson will be touring throughout September in the UK, France, and the Netherlands.As with the US Tour of 2014, this will be the Drum Trio incarnation of KC and will feature a set list peppered with long standing classics of all eras and incarnations of the band. There is also talk of new material being readied for an eventual new CD.European Tour dates:31 Aug - Friars, Aylesbury Waterside Theatre1 Sept - Friars, Aylesbury Waterside Theatre3 Sept - St.David’s Hall, Cardiff5 Sept - Dome Concert Hall, Brighton7 Sept - Hackney Empire, London8 Sept - Hackney Empire, London11 Sept - Lowry, Manchester,14 Sept - Symphony Hall,Birmingham17 Sept - Usher Hall, Edinburgh21 Sept - Olympia, Paris22 Sept - Olympia, Paris24 Sept - Tivoliredenburg, Utrecht25 Sept - Tivoliredenburg, Utrecht

King Crimson is: Mel Collins, Robert Fripp, Gavin Harrison, Jakko Jakszyk, Tony Levin, Pat Mastelotto and Bill Rieflin.Tickets go on sale this Friday February 6 and are available fromLivenation, except for tickets for the Aylesbury shows that can be obtained here .

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